1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of safety devices worn by a driver when operating a high-performance vehicle. More specifically, the present invention relates to a restraint device that controls movement of, and reduces forces applied to, a driver's head, neck and spine when the driver is subjected to high deceleration forces, such as those forces that may occur during a collision event while operating a high-performance vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditionally, drivers of high-performance vehicles have employed standard five or six point seat belt assemblies, in which all of the belts tie into a common buckle, to restrain the driver during a collision event. Although standard seat belt assemblies are effective in constraining the torso of the driver to the seat assembly during a collision event, it does not restrain the driver's head or neck. As such, during a frontal or angular frontal impact, the driver's head may continue forward from the seat assembly then violently rotate downward towards the driver's chest as the seatbelts engage and restrict forward movement of the driver's torso. Rear impacts may also cause undesirable movement of the driver's head and neck. For example, the driver's head may rebound off of the seat headrest, then into the aforementioned described forward and downward motion. Further, side impacts may cause the driver's head and neck to tilt sideways, resulting in significant and unequal loading conditions wherein one side of the neck may bear the vast majority of the loading as compared to the opposed side. In the aforementioned impact scenarios, uncontrolled movement of the driver's head and neck, and resulting excessive loading thereto, has resulted in serious injury including death.
Injury may occur during a collision event when the driver's head moves forward and downward until it strikes against an interior component of the vehicle, such as the steering wheel. Additionally, downward rotation of the driver's head may cause elevated tension forces to occur in the spine and neck. Where the tension forces are sufficiently high, a basilar skull fracture may occur, a condition in which the base of the skull cracks from the stem. Finally, during recoil, the occupant's head may be flung rearward against an interior component of the car, typically the seating assembly. Angular and side impacts further compounds the effect of the impact by causing forces to be applied unequally to one side of the neck as compared to the other side.
One proposed approach to reduce these types of injuries was to equip high-performance vehicles with driver-side airbags. However, this approach is problematic in that after the initial impact, the inflated airbag would block the driver's field of vision. Another problem is that the air bags would have to deploy much more quickly and with more explosive force than it would have to with conventional vehicles, due to the greater speeds at which high-performance vehicles are operated.
Other efforts to improve safety for occupants of high-performance vehicles include devices configured to restrain the driver's head and neck during a collision. Five of these devices, sold under the respective marks Hutchens Device®, R-3™, Hutchens II™, Hutchens Hybrid™ and Hans Device® are well known in the racing industry.
The Hans Device® includes a rigid yoke that is worn around the neck and over the shoulders of a driver and to which a safety helmet is tethered. The Hans Device® is configured principally for frontal collisions, being less effective in angular-frontal and side impacts.
Another disadvantage of the Hans Device® is that the structure of the yoke may inadvertently cause the device to become a safety hazard by impeding the driver from quickly exiting the vehicle. With high-performance vehicles, egress is made through the driver-side window frame. However, the stiff and bulky yoke of the Hans Device® may make it more difficult to move and fit through the driver-side window frame. Consequently, valuable time in removing the driver from a dangerous crash site and to treat the driver may be lost. This need to quickly exit the vehicle is particularly critical when the driver and/or vehicle are on fire or when the driver is seriously injured.
A further disadvantage of the Hans Device® is that the driver's seat must be modified in order to accommodate the bulky yoke. Accordingly, the device cannot be used in a vehicle until costly modification to the vehicle's seat assembly has been made.
Still another disadvantage of the Hans Device® is that some drivers consider the bulky yoke as being uncomfortable and that the yoke restricts their mobility when operating the vehicle. Moreover, some drivers have also noted that yoke limits their peripheral view. These limitations of the Hans Device® may potentially lead to driver error. For patents that describe a restraint device having a yoke, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,009,566 and 4,638,510, to Robert P. Hubbard.
The Hutchens Device® is a restraint device that is comprised of a series of straps that form a harness which is worn by a driver. The harness is tethered to the driver's helmet at one end and anchored to either the vehicle's seat belt assembly or, in an alternative embodiment, around the driver's legs. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,499,149, to Trevor P. Ashline.
In addition to providing protection to the driver during a collision, the Hutchens Device® overcomes many of the disadvantages of the prior art. For example, the Hutchens Device®, by being configured of flexible straps, is light-weight and does not significantly interfere with a driver's ability to egress a vehicle. As such, the driver may freely exit the vehicle upon uncoupling the vehicle's seat belt assembly.
Moreover, the Hutchens Device® does not require any modification to the vehicle's seat assembly in order to properly function. Accordingly, the device is ready for use upon purchase and is a safety solution affordable to all drivers.
The R-3™ and Hutchens II™ are restraint devices, each having a rigid member positioned along the driver's back, tethers connecting the rigid member to a helmet, and straps connecting the restraint device to an anchor, such as the vehicle's seat belt assembly, for controlling the driver's head and neck during a vehicle collision. (See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,931,699 B2 and patent application Ser. No. 11/131,782, each to Trevor P. Ashline). Like the Hutchens Device®, the R-3™ and Hutchens II™ are light-weight, do not significantly interfere with a driver's ability to egress a vehicle, require no modification to the driver's seat assembly prior to use, and allow for a driver to freely exit the vehicle upon uncoupling the vehicle's seat belt assembly.
Notwithstanding the benefits provided by the Hutchens Device®, R-3™, Hutchens II™, and HANS® due to the dangerous nature of operating a high-performance vehicle during a racing event, there is a continual need for providing improved and/or alternative head and neck restraint devices. Such restraint devices should not only provide the benefit of controlling the driver's head and neck during a collision, but should also be simplistic in its use and construction, affordable, not interfere with a driver's ability to operate the vehicle, allow the driver to be released from the vehicle upon merely uncoupling the vehicle's seat belt assembly, and not impede the driver's egress from the vehicle.